Government & Politics
Here’s when drug prices will start to decrease for Medicare recipients
This story was updated at 4:55 p.m., Dec. 5, 2022, to reflect a correction.* Starting next month, a $35 cap on insulin prices will go into effect for millions of Medicare recipients. The lower pricing is one of the first of several policy measures Americans will see in the coming months and years under the […]
Big oil supports bills to make sales of 15% ethanol blends year-round
LINCOLN — The U.S. Senate, with volatile gasoline prices top of mind, is inching toward a bipartisan solution to a years-long push for year-round sales of ethanol blends of 15% or more. Bills to codify the change have shared support from agricultural organizations and biofuels boosters, including the congressional delegations from ag states like Nebraska, […]
Dozens of mayoral seats up for grabs in Tuesday’s runoff elections
Thirty-four mayoral races will be decided in Tuesday’s runoff election. Seventeen include incumbents like Linda Newbury in Union County. The Felsenthal mayor is facing Theresa Howard after both candidates received 24 votes in the general election. More than 70 elections for mayoral, city council and school board positions are occurring in thirty-nine counties statewide. There […]
Calls made to prosecute Arizona officials who refused to certify election
The Republican Cochise County supervisors who refused to certify the election results should be investigated and criminally prosecuted, Secretary of State Katie Hobbs said in a letter to state and county attorneys. Without repercussions, Hobbs wrote to Attorney General Mark Brnovich and Cochise County Attorney Brian McIntyre, the decision of supervisors Tom Crosby and Peggy […]
The link between politicians and anti-LGBTQ+ violence
It’s an age-old, chicken-and-egg discussion: Is it extant societal forces of exclusion, hatred and reaction that give rise to authoritarian politicians who in turn foment division, prejudice, and violence? Or does it work the other way around? A global survey reveals compelling examples of both scenarios in action. It’s hard to imagine the repressive religious […]
Democrats strip Iowa of first-in-the-nation prize, tap South Carolina for first primary
WASHINGTON — Voters in South Carolina would go first in picking Democratic presidential nominees, followed by Nevada, New Hampshire, Georgia and Michigan if their states go along with a proposal a key Democratic National Committee panel approved Friday. The Rules and Bylaws Committee’s nearly unanimous voice vote proposes moving the Democratic primary’s earliest election date […]
Biden signs bill that staves off railroad workers strike
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Friday signed into law a resolution intended to avert a freight rail strike, based on an agreement reached between some rail unions and freight rail companies. Several unions did not agree with the deal passed by Congress because it lacked paid sick leave, but Democrats have said the alternative […]
Arkansas Supreme Court stops revocation of medical marijuana cultivation permit for now
The Arkansas Supreme Court on Thursday granted a Fort Smith medical marijuana cultivator’s request to pause the state’s decision to revoke its growing license. The court agreed to expedite its review of an appeal from River Valley Relief Cultivation after a Pulaski County circuit judge ruled that its license should be stripped and regulators took […]
Report: Biden says South Carolina should be first primary state, Michigan first in Midwest
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden is recommending to the Democratic National Committee that South Carolina become the first primary state in the presidential nominating process in 2024, and that New Hampshire and Nevada follow a week later — leaving Iowa out of the early lineup, the Washington Post reported Thursday night. Georgia and Michigan would […]
U.S. Supreme Court to review Biden student debt relief plan in February
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court said Thursday it will hear oral arguments in February over a legal challenge by six Republican-led states to the Biden administration student borrower relief plan. Until the arguments are heard and the court issues a ruling, the $400 billion Biden plan is on hold due to a nationwide injunction […]
U.S. Senate averts freight rail strike, but bid to include worker sick leave fails
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate on Thursday voted to codify an agreement the White House brokered between rail unions and freight companies in order to avoid a catastrophic rail strike, but fell short of enough votes to include paid sick leave for workers. The Senate backed the rail deal on an 80-15 vote and rejected […]
Arkansas ban on gender-affirming care for transgender youth awaits court ruling
*This story was updated at 6:25 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 1, 2022, with additional details from Thursday’s testimony. Arkansas’ ban on gender-affirming health care for transgender minors awaits a decision from a federal judge after the defense rested its case Thursday. The proceedings lasted eight days, four in October and four in November, as the […]